Officer McDoogle is new to Springdale Middle School. He is a school resource officer from the Springdale Sheriff’s department. His job is to protect the safety of students and staff. On his first day of duty while standing in the hallway next to the cool girls’ lockers, he overheard Cassandra talking with Raven and Lasa as they were hurrying to their first period class.

Cassandra: 
“Hey you two, don’t you remember this area is off limits to anyone but the cool girls.  You will never be invited to have a locker near us as long as you wear such ugly, oops I meant to say, home-made outfits.” 

Lasa: 
“Hi Cassandra.  Aren’t you claiming more "cool girls" space than usual this morning?”   

Raven (laughing): 
“Yeah don’t get all bothered, Cassandra; we will try our best to stay out of your way!”

Officer McDoogle:
Officer McDoogle steps over to Cassandra and, out of the earshot of other students, he asks, “Missy, you are being very unkind to your classmates this morning.  I hope that you don’t make a habit of disrespecting others!”

Cassandra: 
“Do I know you?  And, ah, er, why are you talking to me?  I didn’t break any school rules did I?”

Officer McDoogle: 
“I’m Officer McDoogle and this is my first day on duty as the school’s resource officer.  And to answer your second and third questions, I am speaking to you because you broke a major rule of mine which is:  do not bully or disrespect others.”      

Cassandra: 
“You are joking aren’t you?  I didn’t do anything to Lasa or Raven, I was only reminding them of my rule which is:  stay away from the cool girls’ space.”  

Officer McDoogle: 
“So you’re a rule-maker too.  We have something in common.  Let’s talk about this after school today. My office is next to the principal’s.”

Later after school, Cassandra waits outside Officer McDoogle’s office with Bibi and Mimi standing beside her. 

Officer McDoogle: 
“Hello, again, Cassandra.  I see that you’ve called a meeting of your friends to review your locker space requirements.  That’s fine.  Come in and have a seat. This saves me time in letting you all know about changes we have made in locker assignments.”   

He pulls out three sets of locker keys from his desk drawer with tag numbers for lockers located far from the school entrance and from each other.

Officer McDoogle: 
“Cassandra since we met in the hall this morning, I’ve been investigating the rules at this school and discovered that there is a rule against bullying. But no one is aware of your rule to stay clear of your locker and the group you call, the cool girls.  I also heard from Coach Cruncher and Mr. Bittner how you have a habit of putting down and excluding other girls from your group.  This behavior  is an example of bullying. You need to know that bullying will not be tolerated.  Beginning tomorrow - to help you change your bad habits - you, Bibi and Mimi will move to lockers in different parts of the hallway, which will give each of you an opportunity to make new friends."   

Cassandra (mournfully): 
“Officer McDoogle, this is pretty harsh punishment!”

Officer McDoogle:
“Cassandra, this isn’t punishment – it’s a first ‘warning’ to remind you not to bully.  For a second offense, you can expect to lose more privileges. Mimi and Bibi, even though you weren’t involved in this bullying incidence, your association with Cassandra suggests to me that you may be supporters of bullying.  Bystanders are expected to stop bullying - whenever it happens - by helping the bullied student or telling an adult.  Therefore, I’ll watch for you to support Cassandra’s progress in showing everyone respect at school.”      

There's lots of information on this website to help if you're being bullied or if you've seen it happening to others.